Geoff is talking about the series support added to the firmware in 2.2.0. With that, the series name and number are stored separately in the database on the device.

I'm seeing the same thing. For the series numbers of 0.5, 1, 2, 2.4 and 5, the order was 1, 2, 5, 0.5, 2,4.

The number in the database is actually a string. Kobo will put other characters in there. The most common is to prefix the number with a hash symbol (#). But, one of the "A Song of Fire and Ice" books has something like "Part 1 of Book 2".

I tried adding the # in front of each number in the database. In this case I get 0.5, 1, 2.5, 2, 5.

I also tried adding the ".0" for the integers. That gives the correct sequence.

Does this mean you won't have to have Calibre send over the series information in the title any more? Am I understanding correctly that the Kobo device will include the series number that Calibre has for a book into its database? I was under the impression the "series support" that was added to the firmware was only for kepubs and Kobo's way of putting series information into the book's details. I'm beginning to think I was too pessimistic...

Does this mean you won't have to have Calibre send over the series information in the title any more? Am I understanding correctly that the Kobo device will include the series number that Calibre has for a book into its database

That's right, no need to change the book title anymore, just tick "set series information" in Calibre's Kobo driver and the series name and index will be put into the Kobo database the next time the device is connected (i.e. unplug the device, let it process new content, then plug it back in to get the series information).

When books are listed on the device it sorts them as if the series name and index were at the beginning of the title, but it displays the series information on a seperate line in a smaller font, as with kepubs. That way all the books in the series appear together in order when listing by title (also when listing by author, as long as the books in the series are by the same author).

That's right, no need to change the book title anymore, just tick "set series information" in Calibre's Kobo driver and the series name and index will be put into the Kobo database the next time the device is connected (i.e. unplug the device, let it process new content, then plug it back in to get the series information).

When books are listed on the device it sorts them as if the series name and index were at the beginning of the title, but it displays the series information on a seperate line in a smaller font, as with kepubs. That way all the books in the series appear together in order when listing by title (also when listing by author, as long as the books in the series are by the same author).

WoW - this is fab . . to have all the books listed down in the series order. Don't forget to delete your Metadata Plugboard in Calibre if you set one up for series info, otherwise the series info displays twice . . ask me how I know

I know it seems weird but the series info gets set when you reconnect the Kobo AFTER the initial sync. This is because the database where the series info is stored only has the new books added to it when they are processed by the Kobo.

Also I remember that at one point, the initial sort shown at the top of a booklist was not actually correct; you had to reselect the sort and then the list would update.

And finally are you sure... Is the series info showing up? The book should show up with the author name, then on the next line the book's title, and beneath that the series name, a hyphen and then the series index.

I know it seems weird but the series info gets set when you reconnect the Kobo AFTER the initial sync. This is because the database where the series info is stored only has the new books added to it when they are processed by the Kobo.

1) set the series information in calibre
2) plugged in the device
3) Clicked the "Send to device" button in calibre

And the series would show up in "Colelctions" on the Sonys.

Does Calibre/Kobo work the same for series (with the latest software/firmware)? I take it Calibre creates the Shelves (on the Kobo) and puts the books in the selves in the correct series order?

You don't need any shelves, I think having a shelf for each series was just a work-around for the lack of proper series support in earlier firmware. With the current firmware you just enter the series info in Calibre and everything else is automatic (once you have configured the Kobo driver plugin by ticking the "set series information" box, and assuming you use automatic metadata management option in Calibre).

Edit: You can still have a shelf for each series if you wish, but you will need to create a suitable plugboard in calibre, and perhaps turn on the shelf management option in the Kobo driver plugin. I haven't tried that, it seems unnecessary because to see a list of all books in a particular series in proper order I can just do a search on the series name.

You don't need any shelves, I think having a shelf for each series was just a work-around for the lack of proper series support in earlier firmware. With the current firmware you just enter the series info in Calibre and everything else is automatic (once you have configured the Kobo driver plugin by ticking the "set series information" box, and assuming you use automatic metadata management option in Calibre).

I liked that on the Sonys series would be put in collections. And I would prefer similar functionality for the Kobo.

But first try searching for the series name on the Kobo reader. Once Calibre has put the series information in the database it is usually only necessary to enter a few letters into the search box for the series name will appear, then tap on the series name and I think you will see pretty much the same thing as you would for a series shelf.

Edit: You can still have a shelf for each series if you wish, but you will need to create a suitable plugboard in calibre, and perhaps turn on the shelf management option in the Kobo driver plugin. I haven't tried that, it seems unnecessary because to see a list of all books in a particular series in proper order I can just do a search on the series name.

No need at all to create a plugboard for series info!

My setup is as follows:

No Plugboard

Books have correct series info entered in via calibre

Sending books to devices save template of

Code:

{author_sort}/{title} - {authors}

Driver setup as follows:

Automatic Metadata Management

Read Metadata from files on device

Use Sub Directories

Save Template:

Code:

{author_sort}/{series}{series_index:0>2s| - | - }{title}

Shelf names:

Code:

#myshelves, series

myshelves is a custom column of type comma seperated text, like tags, shown in the tag browser that I use to define additional shelves for some books